Onsite Wastewater Treatment System Installed at Primero School District, Colorado

LOCATION: Rocky Mountain National Park, CODESCRIPTION: IWS constructed a wastewater system designed to treat 10,000 gallons per day of wastewater from the school and includes the following components: four AX-100 treatment units; two
15,000 gallon tanks and one 8,000 gallon septic tank; one 10,000 gallon recirculation tank; one 2,000 gallon grease interceptor; UV disinfection, and a control building.

IWS was able to mobilize quickly, integrate with the project effectively, and get the job done on time. IWS did what it took to meet our schedule without sacrificing quality. I look forward to working with IWS on future projects

Primero School District
Located in southern Colorado about 10 miles north of the New Mexico border, the Primero School District includes an elementary school, middle school, and high school for children from Weston, Colorado as well as the surrounding 190 square mile rural area. Primero’s phase II expansion (including an 11,000 ft2 industrial arts, art, and music wing) required the installation of an advanced treatment wastewater system to serve the school. IWS was awarded the contract to construct the system as a subcontractor to Neenan Company, the prime design-build contractor.

Project Challenges
In addition to a very aggressive construction schedule, the site was challenging due to shallow groundwater four to six feet below grade. IWS utilized extensive shoring and dewatering to excavate trenches for the tanks and pipelines. IWS also assisted the project engineer to obtain a dewatering permit from the Colorado Water Quality Control Division to discharge and pump groundwater to the Purgatoire River. To complicate the expedited schedule, it was necessary to execute the project while school was in session, which required performing major construction activities on weekends. IWS worked very closely with school representatives and the Neenan Company (Design-Builder) to quickly resolve issues that arose during construction to remain on schedule. The Neenan Company (Fort Collins) is the leading design-build firm in Colorado (www.neenan.com).

System Design
The wastewater system is designed to treat 10,000 gallons per day of wastewater from the school and includes the following components: four AX-100 treatment units; two 15,000 gallon tanks and one 8,000 gallon septic tank; one 10,000 gallon recirculation tank; one 2,000 gallon grease interceptor; UV disinfection, and a control building. Treated effluent was discharged to the Purgatoire River.
The project was well received by all the stakeholders. Mike King, Project Manager of Neenan Company described the IWS effort; “IWS was able to mobilize quickly, integrate with the project effectively, and get the job done on time. IWS did what it took to meet our schedule without sacrificing quality. I look forward to working with IWS on future projects”. Since completion of the Primero wastewater project, Neenan selected IWS to design-build another school project in Colorado.